The Son and the Moon
by Mystrothedefender
Summary: Angel James Wayne. he's the Joker's son, but the only father he knows is Bruce. Basically an AU
1. Call Him James

**This story was my boyfriend's idea. I think it's fantastic.**

**It'll be my next long chaptered story. I'm going to start uploading it while I'm still doing Prove me right, but the chapters will be slow.**

**I know you lot don't really like OC's but give it a chance C:**

It had been over four years since Harley Quinn had disappeared, Joker had only flittered in and out of note since then; disappearing for months at a time, then appearing for one or two big heists, and disappearing again. Most people assumed Harley had died somehow, and Joker had taken the loss harder than would have been expected. But it didn't seem right. Batman searched and searched, but came up dry.

One day she re-appeared.

"Joker!" she roared in anger, pointing her bazooka at the man, "I'm going to kill you!"

"Harley, baby." Joker cooed in an attempt to soothe her, "What else was I supposed to do? The blasted thing wouldn't shut up! It was an accident!"

Harley was crying with anger as she pulled the trigger, and a missile was launched the short distance between them. Joker leapt out of the projectile's way, and dashed out into the street, into the hordes of screaming civilians.

"Come back here so I can kill you!" she screeched, firing another round at the clown, who again dodged the explosion.

Batman was around a quarter of a mile away when he heard the first explosion. He flew towards the source of the commotion.

"Harley, calm down, can we talk about this?" the clown yelled as he dashed down the street, finding his way to the densely populated areas, trying to lose Harley in the crowd.

Batman threw a batarang at Harley to disarm her, but through some twist of fate it missed, instead slicing into her chest.

She fell to the floor in a whimpering mess, blood pouring from the wound. Batman felt his heart jump into his throat, he hadn't meant for that to happen.

Joker squealed in delight and ran up to the injured woman, sending a kick at her, "Serves you right!" he shouted, laughing, "Finally, Batman's on my side!"

Batman flew down as Joker aimed another kick at Harley, "Joker no!" he roared, landing next to the clown, he threw a punch at Joker's face, hitting him square in the jaw.

The clown let out an 'oof' of pain, falling to the floor. Joker grabbed Batman as he fell, and managed to put him off balance, he stumbled away from the fighting clowns, falling a few feet away. Batman turned to Harley to see that she was still holding the bazooka, she had reloaded it.

She pointed the bazooka at the clown as he got to his feet, "Fuck off b-man. He's mine."

"Harley no." Batman said shortly.

"You wouldn't." Joker growled, "Harley-"

As Harley went to pull the trigger a deafening bang erupted in the air, but not from the bazooka.

And Harley fell to the floor.

Blood exploded from Joker's shoulder, and again from the side of his head as another two bangs ripped through the air.

Someone had shot them.

Batman felt the air around him become still, his ears filling will a harsh ringing, after a few seconds he heard screaming. He lifted his head and saw them, both in crumpled heaps.

Batman rushed to Joker's side, "No, no, Joker, no." The clown's bleeding head flopped lifelessly as Batman lifted it, fumbling as he tried to check Joker's pulse, it was there, but barely.

He quickly checked Harley.

She was dead.

Batman wasn't sure what to do.

He felt sick.

He looked at the exit wound on Harley's chest, and Joker's shoulder, and found where the bullets had landed. The person who fired the shots was… 1 and a half, 2 miles away.

He wanted to go and survey the area, but he couldn't leave, Joker was still alive, he needed to make sure he stayed that way.

He ended up just waiting for the police. They arrived within minutes, Batman quickly found his way to Gordon, partially hoping he could find some comfort with the old man.

"Batman." Gordon said, a look of confusion and angst on his face. "…What happened…? Why were they fighting?"

"It's Joker and Harley, they always fight." Batman wasn't sure what else to say… This felt so surreal.

"_Did _always fight." Gordon mumbled; he could tell Batman was unnerved by what had happened, and knew he hated when people died around him, but honestly, Gordon was relieved, almost happy, that one of the two was dead.

Batman looked away, at the devastation caused, "We should find out where they've been hiding. Maybe there'll be something there to explain all this."

Gordon smiled, "Well then, let's follow the trail of destruction."

Batman made his way by rooftop along the path laid out for him, the line of destroyed buildings and dead bodies.

There was a tiny house, the door of which had been kicked down from the inside. This must be where it started.

Batman entered the house carefully, the noise of police sirens blaring behind him, he checked for booby-traps, the place was trashed. Blood smears splattering the walls and things smashed on the floor.

Why would Harley and Joker stay here? For so long?

Then Bruce heard the one sound he never thought he would hear.

A child crying.

He felt his heart sink slightly, he made his way towards the source of the noise. He found his way to a room.

There were bloodied handprints over the walls, forming a pattern; the word 'Angel'. Hanging from the ceiling was a small collection of bones, some human, some animal. It looked like a baby's mobile. It was hanging over an open suitcase.

Batman approached the case carefully; it may be a trap.

It wasn't.

Laying in the suitcase, half covered by old torn rags; old capes and one of Joker's suit jackets, was a child. A boy, he looked to be two and a half, maybe three years old.

His hair was dyed green, the roots a visible dark blonde, and he had a streak of white paint on his face.

He looked malnourished, and he was bruised, with a deep half-healed cut on his forearm.

The poor child.

Seeing Batman the boy stopped his whimpered crying, and outstretched his arms, wanting to be picked up, he began chuckling gently.

Batman gingerly took a step forward, and picked up the child.

"Batman?" Gordon said in confusion as he entered the room.

"I found this." Batman said, gesturing to the child in his arms. The boy cooed gently "Babat!" he squeaked as he reached out and grabbed at Batman's nose.

Batman glanced down into the suitcase and saw a voodoo-style doll of Batman, he swept down to pick up the toy, and he handed it to the giggling child.

"He seems to like you." The commissioner said, smiling.

He held out the child to Gordon as it continued trying to grope at his mask, "Take him." He grunted.

Gordon smiled weakly and took the child. "And here I thought you liked kids."

"I already have 4 boys." Batman said as he started to make his way from the room, "Find out who he belongs to."

...

"I can't believe she's dead." Bruce said as the family sat down for their meal; it had been so long since they had been together, they decided to make a day of it, a special event for Bruce's birthday.

"Yes, she's dead! And Joker's in a coma and will probably die during the night." Damian said as he inched his chair to the table, "You've said, many times. I'm surprised you're not organising a party. Birthday party and funeral rolled into one."

Alfred placed plates filled with food in front of the 6 people at the table, "Master Damian… I believe master Bruce is _upset_ by the death. Master Jason, please take your feet off the table." He tapped Jason's feet as he passed.

Jason rolled his eyes, putting his feet back on the floor "I'm all up for a party, you know how I feel about him…"

"Felt." Tim smiled.

"Feel." Jason growled, "I still hate him."

"Just eat your food Jay." Dick smiled, already having finished half of his food, "God Bruce, people who say you're moody must look at him and explode."

Barbra laughed loudly at Dick's comment, Dick grinned at her response as if it was candy.

Jason nonchalantly stuck his middle finger up at Dick, "Seeing as it's Bruce's birthday, I won't kill you for that."

"I trust we'll be doing the same thing next year?" Bruce noted happily.

By 9 that evening Dick had left, along with Jason and Tim, all to their own houses, their own lives.

Damien had confined himself to his room, doing who knows what. Usually he'd be training, or getting ready to go out on patrol, but not tonight.

Bruce sat lazily in the cave, looking through Harley Quinn's psychological profile, why would she have done this? She doted on Joker. What could have made her so angry? Maybe it had something to do with the child? Why had it been there?

…It might all not matter by morning.

It was almost half past 10 when the batsignal flared in the sky. Gordon waited patiently with a file in his hand.

"Commissioner." Batman's voice appeared behind him, a few years ago this might have made him jump, but he'd grown used to it.

"Batman." he said calmly, "I have some information. About the child we found." He held the file out for Bruce to take.

He opened it and looked through, his eye's slowly widening as he did.

Gordon watched him read, "We couldn't find any records of him on file, no missing children reports matching his description… we ran a DNA test. He's Harley Quinn's child."

"Joker's?" Batman asked, his throat dry and his pulse racing faster than if he'd been in a fight.

Gordon shook his head, "We don't know." He frowned, crossing his arms as Batman re-read the information, "We've not been able to match him yet. But we're assuming so."

Batman coughed gently as he looked at a photo of the child, this was too much to absorb.

"He doesn't have a birth certificate. We're not sure how old he is. It seems he's been kept completely secret all this time."

That child. Harley Quinn's child. Joker's son.

"We're not sure what to do with him."

He was, for all intents and purposes, an orphan.

Bruce frowned gently, "Send him to the Wayne-Weyden orphanage."

Gordon nodded, he should have guessed; the orphanage that Bruce Wayne gave money to. The one he could drop into any time without cause or warning, just to say a casual hello.

Gordon sighed slightly, "Poor kid. He doesn't even had a name."

Batman stared blankly at the file in his hand, "Call him James."

The older man smiled, "James Wayne?"

Batman shrugged, "Just make sure he's safe."

Joker had so many enemies. If any of them found out he had a son, then the poor child wasn't going to last long.

Maybe that was why he'd been kept a secret. Maybe Harley knew and was trying to keep him safe.

She hadn't even checked into a hospital to give birth.

She must have been so scared.

...

_Harley squealed and sobbed in pain as the aches in her stomach came back, knots of pain stabbing into her._

_Joker rolled his eyes as he looked at her over the arm of the sofa, "Stop whining you stupid girl."_

_She let out a final sob, biting her lip to try to stop the noises erupting from her, but it wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. The baby was coming, Joker wouldn't let her leave the house, what was she going to do…?_

_Joker frowned and got to his feet, "I said shut up. If you don't, I'm going to take my knife and cut that thing from you myself."_

"_Y-yes sir…" She whimpered, tears streaming down her face._

_He raised his hand and slapped the crying woman, "Now get into your room. You're going to get blood everywhere!"_

_She stumbled from the room, across the hall, into the place the baby was going to sleep in. She buckled under the pain that ripped through her, crumbling to the floor. It was ok, she used to be a doctor, she knew how to deliver a baby._

_Judging by the contractions it would only be another hour or so._

_She just needed to calm down._

"_H-hush little baby, d-don't say a word…" a scream tried to tear itself from her, but she wouldn't let it._

_Joker sat in the living room, frowning over his shoulder at the soft whimpers coming from the baby's room. He turned back to the tv and turned the volume up. That girl just would not be quiet…_

**I hoped you like this chapter, please review to tell me what you think!**


	2. He only responds to 'Angel'

**Hello!**

**I'm having fun writing this x)**

Bruce Wayne walked into the front entrance of the Wayne-Weyden Orphanage and came up to the front desk.

The building was grey, it bored him to just look at the place; grey walls, grey floors, grey uniforms. The reception desk, and most of the other equipment in the room was black, still, it felt cold.

"Mr Wayne." The girl at the reception desk said in surprise, her eye's grew wide and she almost dropped the phone she was holding.

Bruce gave her a calm smile, "Hello. Michele, wasn't it?" He placed his hands lazily on the desk, leaning against it slightly.

The girl blushed and nodded, she was surprised he remembered, it must have been almost 6 months since one of the benefactors came round, and that was to drop off Christmas presents for the children.

Bruce's smile widened slightly, "Lovely to see you again, are you still with your boyfriend?"

She shook her head, blushing slightly brighter, there was something about Mr Wayne's voice that seemed so… like if he wanted, he could make you say anything. "No, we broke up…" she cleared her throat gently, "Is there any particular reason for your visit?"

He shook his head, "Not really, I just wanted to check up on the place. See how the kids are doing."

"Not planning on adopting any today are you sir?" she said, smiling cheekily.

Bruce gave a gentle chuckle and shook his head, "No, I've got my hands full already."

She tapped a couple of buttons on the computer, "We've got one of the 8-12's leaving today, 3 birthdays across the board. A new toddler, and a new 14 year old."

He held his hand to his chin, pretending to think about whom he wanted to see, "I think I'll go for the new toddler first."

Michele nodded again, smiling widely; liking children was attractive in a man, and Bruce Wayne had adopted 3, had his own son, and now seemed interested in the babies – very attractive. "He's in room 23. Down the hall, on your left."

Bruce thanked her quickly and walked quickly down the hall. As he approached room 23 he was reacquainted with that whining cry he had heard two nights ago.

The room contained 5 cots, each but the last held a baby or toddler. The 5th bed had a woman standing by it, she was holding the green-haired baby, bouncing him gently, "Quiet down you damned thing, you'll wake the others…" she said gently, her tone a mix of annoyance and care.

Bruce frowned slightly, he didn't like that she had called him a 'thing', she seemed tense, probably not a good thing while around a child with his presumably bad background.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake the other babies.

"Yeah…" she said, her voice strained, "I'm sorry. He's been like this through my whole shift, that's ten hours. _All _he's done is_ cry_…"

"A little bit of angst is understandable." Bruce said, taking a few steps into the room. He stared down at the baby in her arms, "Why's his hair green?" he asked.

The nurse looked down at the child as it cried, "We can only assume that the parents saw fit to dye it. Idiots."

"Who were the parents?" Bruce asked, interested to know if Gordon had told the orphanage exactly who they were dealing with.

The nurse looked up at him, "I don't know. The head nurse has been told, but I'm not sure. Best to ask her."

"And his arm?" he asked, noticing that they'd bandaged his forearm, maybe it'd been more badly damaged than he'd thought.

The nurse frowned and let out a gentle sigh, "Again, we don't know. It was quite a bad wound, it was untended, some infection and muscle damage… He'll probably be weak in that arm for the rest of his life."

Bruce watched for a second as she bounced the child, trying to calm him down. "Can I hold him?" he asked quietly.

The nurse nodded, and turned the child to face him. The child's face immediately changed, and he held out his hands to be picked up, "Babat!" he said loudly.

Bruce frowned slightly and took the child, "Babat? What's that?" he asked, glancing up at the nurse.

She frowned, "I-I don't know. That's the first thing he's said, we didn't think he could talk."

Bruce held the boy to his chest, the young boy quickly reaching up and grabbing at Bruce's nose, the boy had started giggling.

"He likes you." The nurse smiled.

"What's his name?" Bruce asked, still trying to keep the façade that he didn't know anything about the child.

The nurse leaned forward to tousle the baby's green hair, "We've been told to call him James. But the only name he seems to respond to is Angel. 'Angel' was even stitched into the clothes he was wearing when he was brought in."

Bruce gave a small laugh as the baby continued to fumble with his nose, "Angel James. What a name."

"It's 'Angel James Wayne' actually. He had no birth certificate when he came in. We had to give him a last name too, and the commissioner suggested yours."

"Oh really?" Bruce said, raising an eyebrow, "I hope he doesn't expect me to adopt this one."

The nurse smiled, eyeing Bruce as he held the child. The boy really liked him; he was cooing gently and hugging at him. If the nurse didn't know better she'd think that Bruce were his father. "Would you like to feed him?" She asked, "We haven't been able to get him to take more than a mouthful. He seems to trust you, maybe you have a better chance."

Bruce nodded, smiling down at the child. The nurse took a small pot of baby food and a spoon from the shelf on the wall and handed it to Bruce, he took a seat, holding the baby on his lap.

He opened the pot and dipped the spoon in, "Baby James are you hungry?" he asked quietly as he lifted the spoon to the baby's mouth. The boy reached out and grabbed Bruce's arm, puling the spoon of food to his mouth and gulping at it. "He's so thin." Bruce observed as he gave the child another spoonful of food. "What kind of people would do this to their child…?"

The nurse shook her head, "I don't wish to meet them."

Bruce nodded, giving the baby yet more food, "Why do you think he likes me?"

The nurse hummed in thinking for a second, there had to be a reason. "All the people who've handled him before you have been women. Maybe he's scared of females…?"

"Is that possible?"

She nodded, "We get girls here quite a lot who are scared of men because they had abusive fathers, if this boy…" she paused for a second, as if trying to wrap her head around what she was about to say, "had an abusive mother. Then it would make sense."

"An abusive mother?" Bruce mumbled, feeding the boy the last of the food.

He would have expected Joker to be abusive towards the child, but Harley? He would never have even…

She'd always seemed so maternal.

Bruce frowned, the idea that a mother would do that to her child. Leave him this malnourished, this beaten and bruised…

"We were given this with him." The nurse said, holding out the voodoo-doll Batman, "He holds it as if his life depends on it."

James started squalling at the sight of the toy, holding out his arms and grasping at the air in front of him, the nurse gave him the toy, and the boy held it to his chest, "Babat…" he said happily.

"Oh?" Bruce said, smiling, "Is that what 'Babat' means? Batman?"

The boy held the toy out towards Bruce and gurgled "Babat" again.

The nurse smiled sweetly, "That is probably one of the most adorable things I've seen."

…

Bruce was still smiling when he got home, that boy, there was something about him.

Despite having had Joker as a father he'd developed a liking for Batman. Or, maybe Joker had coded that liking into him, hoping his boy would become like himself.

He'd certainly have to go back and see him again. Both James' parents had mental illness', it was likely he'd be more susceptible to such things. Given what the boy must have been through, and Bruce knew how bad those orphanage children treated the ones who were different…

He'd have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't follow in his father's footsteps.

Honestly Bruce was amazed that Joker had been able to sire a son, he had assumed that the accident had made him infertile.

When Gordon had contacted him that morning, and told him that James was in fact Joker's son, he'd known he'd needed to see him.

He sat down at the Bat computer, spinning a rotation or two on his new chair before getting up the info he needed. On his way home the previous night he had stopped to find the place that the sniper had shot from, the one who had killed Haley, and put Joker in a coma.

He managed to find it; the only evidence there was two small marks on the edge of a balcony. One was a tiny rubber scuff on the ledge, caused by the stabiliser on a gun. And the faint shoe imprint on the floor – men's size 12.

Both were generic. Almost impossible to trace.

He was currently waiting for his computer to hack the nearby security cameras to see if whoever took the shot was stupid enough to sit within view of the cameras.

It would take a minute or so for the computer to hack it, so in the meantime he sat, thinking about the child.

The proses wouldn't take anywhere near as long if Dick were here, or Tim. They were brilliant with computers, far better than Bruce, somehow. If Bruce didn't know better he'd say that they could talk to the damn machines, they just tapped a few buttons and it was done.

Bruce sighed, looking up at the process bar.

'Angel James Wayne.'

…They couldn't have a child calling himself 'Angel'.

He'd eventually grow out of it wouldn't he? Ugh… He hoped so.

A video popped up, the security footage. Bruce sighed as he watched the video, and found that, just as he had thought, the man hadn't stood within the cameras view.

There was a flash in the corner of the screen, a small black blur. It looked like a hand.

He sighed. He'd have to talk to the security guards of that building. Have a look to see if there were any more cameras around there.

He'd find out who it was.

He'd find this murderous man, and make sure he paid for what he did.

…

_It was one, maybe two hours later that Harley came out from the room, covered in blood and gunk, tears still tracking their way down her face. She could barely stand. She was staring down at the mass of blankets that held her baby._

_"M-Mr J?" she asked timidly. He hadn't even taken his eyes from the tv when she came in._

_"What Harley?" Joker asked, letting out a small and annoyed sigh._

_She shakily held out the bundle she was holding, "You have a son."_

_"Oh." He said, turning his eyes back to the tv._

_She frowned; he didn't care, at all, what had ever made her think he would…_

_He nodded gently, "Good. I'm glad."_

_She smiled slightly, "…Would you like to hold him?" she asked gingerly._

_Joker frowned and shook his head, "I know where it's been. I dunno, just throw it on the sofa if you don't know what to do with it."_

_Another small frown came to Harley's face. Maybe if Joker saw him then he'd like him more._

_She propped up a cushion on the sofa and placed the sleeping baby against it. Joker kept his eyes on the tv, and Harley tentatively left the room to clean herself up._

_Joker's eye flicked over to the baby, it was staring at him, cooing gently. He growled at the child, he was going to take attention away from him… Stupid baby._

_He stared at the little animal. It blinked sleepily, a small snot-bubble appeared from its nose, and the baby cooed gently, jumping slightly as the bubble popped._

_Joker gave a slight chuckle. 'Spose it was kinda cute._

_It didn't look much like him though. He'd have to fix that._

**Hope you liked it!**

**Please review!**


	3. He has some problems

**Third chapter! I hope you like it!**

**Please review**

**.**

Bruce sat in the batcave, looking through more security footage, he was getting annoyed, he'd looked over it for 4 days and had found nothing.

He took his eyes from the large screen as he heard someone walking down the stairs to the batcave.

"Master Bruce." Alfred said as he walked into the pool of light created by the computer monitor. "There's someone from the orphanage on hold for you."

"Oh?" Bruce said as he turned to pick up the phone.

He pressed the call-waiting button and answered with his usual cheery 'hello'.

A woman answered back "Hello? Mr Wayne. You may remember that you came and saw a toddler a few days ago?"

Bruce nodded to himself, "Yes, the boy… Angel James?"

"…Just James." The woman said, "The nurse you talked to, Annabelle, told us you managed to get him to eat."

Bruce nodded again, and replied 'yes'.

The woman sighed, "Well, we're having trouble getting him to eat, we've tried everything and he's just not accepting food. We were wondering if yo-"

"If I could come down and feed him?" Bruce finished for her, "Sure, I'd love to, I don't think I've got any meetings planned this afternoon, I can be there in an hour or so?"

The woman gave a small chuckle of relief, "Thank you Mr Wayne, you're being a great help to us."

"Well…" Bruce smiled gently, "I can't let the poor boy go hungry can I?"

With that, he set down the phone, and shut down the computer.

He made his way to the orphanage, he called Damien before he left, telling his son that he would pick him up from school on his way there. It would do him good to see that something as pure and innocent as James could come from something as violent and destructive as the Joker. It might teach the boy something that even Bruce had thought impossible.

Damien of course wasn't interested, James was just some new whelp his father had taken an interest in.

Like he didn't have enough bastard children as it was.

He sat in the car with his arms crossed, "I just don't see why you want me to meet him."

"Because he's like us: he's got no one else." Bruce said calmly, he felt like he was spelling out the situation to a 5 year old, some things which should come easily such as empathy simply didn't seem to come with Damien.

Damien scoffed and rolled his eyes, "We have lots of people…"He turned towards the window, fine, he was going to be forced into this situation, but he refused to be happy about it.

Bruce shook his head, that wasn't what he'd meant. The reason that they had lots of people was that, without meaning to, Bruce had… collected them.

All of them had had no one, now they had each other, they had a family. Bruce couldn't allow little James to go on, having no one, when there was a family here that would accept him.

"I may adopt him." Bruce said gingerly, unsure of himself, of the decision.

Damien frowned, turning back to his father, "What?"

Bruce shrugged, "Dick, Jason and Tim have already flown from the robin's nest, you'll probably leave in a few years. That boy needs someone to look after him, and it's not like I can't afford it."

"You'd never have the time for him, not really… You're becoming one of those old men who hoard things, but instead of collecting newspapers you collect people."

Bruce frowned at his son, "Damien, don't be so disrespectful."

The boy rolled his eyes again, leaning on his elbow with his hand on his chin, gazing out the window at the suburban mess that was Gotham.

"Oh Mr Wayne, it's good to see you again." The receptionist said as Bruce and Damien entered the building, she quickly placed the documents she was holding down on her desk, pushing her full attention onto Bruce.

Bruce smiled widely, "Hello Michele. We're here to see the toddler."

She nodded, glancing down from Bruce to Damien, "Of course…" she tapped at the keyboard, signing him in as a visitor, "Is this young man your son?"

Damien was also a complete contrast to Bruce; where Bruce held himself straight, Damien slouched slightly, Bruce wore a smile, Damien had a frown.

Damien glared at the receptionist, he disliked the way she'd said that, _Is this your son, or one of those runts you've taken from the street?_

Bruce nodded, placing a caring pat on his son's shoulder, "Yes, this is Damien."

Michele nodded gently, "Nice to meet you young man… The boy was moved this morning to room 14."

Bruce frowned slightly, "But that's a pre-school room isn't it? I thought James was only 2 and a half?"

Michele shook her head again, a weight appeared in her stomach and dulled the smile on her face, "He's actually _3 _and a half. The nurses said something about his bone development, I'm not really sure though, it's probably best to ask them."

Bruce nodded and started down the hall, Damien following behind glancing at the dank place.

When Bruce had talked of the possibility of adopting this new boy, Damien hadn't really considered why he would do it.

…As much as he detested the idea of Bruce adopting another child.

Growing up in this place, so dark and _uncaring._

He could feel it dawning on him already, having been in the place only 5 minutes, a feeling that you didn't really matter, that you were just another number.

Overall, worthless.

Damien shook his head as an odd cold shiver ran through him. He doubted that Bruce could feel it.

An adult wouldn't.

This was a hell for _children_, not adults.

Bruce turned into room 14, knocking on the already opened door.

The dull squealing of children; angry, happy and sad, echoed through the room. The nurse was sitting in the far corner, James on her lap, the child was crying, still.

His face was sunken from malnutrition, and he looked incredibly thin.

Certainly Joker's child, Damien thought, the same proportions and oddly focused emerald eyes, but with Harley's rounded-v shaped face.

Bruce approached the small child, nodding a hello to the nurse, he squatted slightly to look the child in the eyes. It stared up at him, unblinking. The boy's face shot into a smile and he out stretched his arms.

"Babat!" The baby squealed happily as Bruce took him into his arms, and stood straight again.

"Mr Wayne." The nurse smiled, "Thank god you're here… He's done nothing but cry and he won't eat."

Bruce nodded, looking down at the child as it turned and hugged him, "I'll try it."

The nurse nodded, and started to move from the crowded room, Bruce and Damien began to follow her as she said "The kitchen is just down here."

They moved down the hall, towards the large kitchen doors, Bruce stuck close to the nurse, with Damien a few steps behind.

The small boy had grown quiet, staring up into Bruce's eyes as he walked. Bruce could feel those eyes drilling into him.

They were just like Joker's.

They felt the same. It was like they entered your soul and sought out your intent, knowing exactly what you wanted, knew what you thought, how you thought.

That was one of the first things Bruce had noticed about Joker.

He had grabbed Joker's arm, ready to pull him to the Batmobile. Joker had turned to him and asked him "_What? You gunna kill me?"_

"_No."_ Batman had shot back, "_I wouldn't kill you_."

Joker had lifted a hand to Batman's head, running a long finger across the vigilante's chin, staring deep into the man's eyes. And suddenly Bruce couldn't move, frozen by the uncomfortably intense gaze…

A small smile had appeared on Joker's face, "_Well aren't you darling_…"

Bruce sighed as he walked into the kitchen, and sat on one of the chairs, baby cooing in his lap.

"You alright, Angel James…?" Bruce asked as the nurse opened the large fridge, pulling out some semi-solid baby-food.

"We were a little confused." The nurse said, handing Bruce the food, along with a spoon, "By the fact that he isn't talking yet. We're assuming that he's been using a pacifier, constantly it would seem, so he's not learned to talk."

Bruce nodded, scooping some food into James's mouth, the baby's mouth moving listlessly, half the gloopy chunks falling from his mouth.

Damien watched his father feed the baby, an odd warmth ebbing in him at seeing his father doing something so typically normal. "He can't eat properly." Damien noted.

Bruce nodded, his eyes narrowing as he watched the child, "…His jaw's been broken at some point."

The nurse looked suddenly panicked, "What?" she said, kneeling to look at the child, putting a hand to his face.

…There was a small lump on his chin. Mr Wayne was right, it had broken, and re-healed in a slightly odd position.

A feeling of nausea leapt to her, "Oh… my god…" she whispered. "The poor boy…"

This was awful, no wonder he'd not been eating. How had the doctors not picked up on this? They would have to re-set his jaw. The child was malnourished as it was, having to be put in a brace… he'd need to be put on a drip.

"Shall I continue?" Bruce asked, a frown deepening on his brow.

The nurse shook her head, "No, sir, umm." She took a step towards the child, holding her arms out to take him from Bruce, "I've got to take him to a doctor to get this checked."

She swiftly took the child from the older man, leaving the room quickly, leaving the two men in the room, on their own.

"That poor boy." Damien said quietly to himself.

He would never had imagined that a child that young would go through as much abuse as child seemed to have; deep bruises, lacerations over the tiny body… he wondered how bad the wound on his arm must have been; it had been bandaged, so he couldn't see the extent of it.

And now a broken jaw too?

…

_"Red!" Harley shouted as she pushed open the door to the florists._

_"Red!" she shouted again, having not heard her reply._

_Ivy leaned back in her chair, her legs crossed on the desk, smiling at the sound of Harley's voice, "I said 'I'm in the office, darling!'!"_

_Harley smiled as she skipped through the lovely smelling room, through the colourful mess of flowers. "I've got news!"_

_Ivy smiled widely as Harley entered the room, "Oh? What would that be?"_

_"Guess!" Harley shouted loudly, even though she was less than a step away._

_Ivy sighed, placing a hand to her chin, humming mockingly, "You broke up with Joker and you've come to live with me? …again…?"_

_Harley tittered with laughter, scuffing he foot lightly on the floor, "No Pam, don't be silly. I'm stronger with Mistah J than I've ever been!"_

_Ivy narrowed her eyes, "Why?"_

_"I'm pregnant!" Harley screamed out happily, throwing her arms into the air in triumph._

_She had always wanted to be pregnant, to be a mummy, have a little angel that she could look after and dress up: if it were a boy she'd dress it like Mistah J. He'd have his own 'mini me'! He'd love it, she was sure. He'd be so happy!_

_Ivy sat with her mouth open, she slowly sat up straight, placing her feet on the floor, "What? Is it Joker's?"_

_Harley grinned, and waved her hand as if as Ivy had told a bad joke, "Red! Who else's would it be?!"_

_Ivy swallowed hard, a sudden bout of dread flooding her; she knew how Joker would react to this, she knew he would detest the idea, she knew he would rather kill Harley than have to look after a child._

_"What are you going to do…?" She asked solemnly, dreading her answer._

_Harley shrugged, still smiling, "I'm on my way to tell him, I thought I should tell you while I passed. I don't know how much I'm gunna see you now I've got a babi."_

_…'A babi'…_

_Ivy sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, "Harley. I cannot let you go back to Joker."_

_Harley tilted her head, shaking it nonchalantly, "Ivy. The babi deserves to know it's daddy!"_

_"I cannot let you leave here until that baby is born. He will kill you if he finds out."_


	4. Now everyone knows

**Part 4, sorry it's taking me so long to write...**

Bruce walked through the halls of the orphanage again, had to be the 6th time this month, on the way to Angel James Wayne's room.

The child had recently begun to talk, which was… interesting.

Some of the things the lad was coming out with were rather adorable. His favourite word though, was still 'Babat'.

His jaw was fully healed and now he was gaining weight at a steady pace, it had taken several months, during which Batman had made very little progress in finding Jokers attacker, Harley's killer. This had frustrated him. The man had left nothing. Not a damn thing to follow.

Bruce had channelled his angst into caring for Joker's child. He had soon found he quite liked looking after a young child. It was like training a Robin but… cuter.

"Babat!" the tiny three year old squealed as Bruce entered the room.

Bruce ducked down and scooped up the child's frame, bringing him into his arms, "Heya Champ." He turned his head to the carer standing in the room as James nuzzled into Bruce's neck, "How's he been doing?"

The carer shrugged, "Alright I suppose, he still refuses to eat anything that isn't mashed, but we've had him checked by the doctor and he's healed fine."

She didn't seem all that happy about that news, but Bruce guessed that James's constant crying at night had taken a toll on the staff of the orphanage.

The child removed his head from the nape of Bruce's neck and turned in the large man's arms, stretching his tiny fingers and groping towards his voodoo Batman doll. Bruce leant over and picked it up, dangling it in front of James's face and smiling as the boy took it from him.

"So all is well?" Bruce asked half-heartedly as he watched the child play.

Again the carer just shrugged, "He still won't stop crying at night…"

Bruce's smile faded slightly as images flashed in his head of what Joker could have done to the child, what Harley might have done.

He knew how cruel they both had been, but somehow he found it hard to imagine them doing such things to their own child.

… It wasn't hard to imagine, he just didn't want to.

He looked down at the happy green eyes of the child, and again was reminded of the Joker's. He sighed gently, "Is that true buddy?"

The child's smile dropped a little, then he held his toy to Bruce's face "Babat!" he squeaked loudly, letting out a giggle of happiness.

"James," Bruce said gently, "Why've you been crying?"

James shook the toy, "Babat?"

Bruce smiled, looking from the toy to the carer who was watching from a few feet away, "Have you been letting him have the toy at night?"

She rolled her eyes, "Of course we have."

Bruce looked down at the child again, smiling sweetly, he took the toy from him and the child's large eye's shot to him, glaring angrily for taking his toy.

"James, look… This," he gestured to the toy, "Is Batman. It's Batman's job to take _all _the things that scare you, and chase them away. So they won't scare you again."

The child looked from Bruce to the toy and blinked pointedly.

"Understand?" Bruce asked cheerily.

James smiled and squeaked happily, "Yes, Babat."

A large smile spread across Bruce's face, "Good little man."

The child squealed when Bruce handed him back the toy, the nurse chuckled darkly, and Bruce smiled over at her. "He's a good kid…"

The nurse nodded, "He will be…" she bit her lip and lowered her voice slightly, "…As long as he doesn't take on any of his parents traits…"

Bruce narrowed his eyes, "Wait," he said, surprised; he and Gordon had talked about it and decided that it would be a bad idea for anyone to know who James's parents really were, "You know who the parents are?"

The nurse bobbed her head, neither a nod nor shake, "We've not been told officially, but we all have our suspicions, and we heard the commissioner talking about it."

"Who?" Bruce said, accidently stern, "I mean, who could it be: Who's bad enough for the commissioner to be talking about, and for you not to be told?" he said quickly to cover his tracks.

The nurse smirked, leaning in gently, "Sir, the boy you are holding is the Joker's son."

Bruce frowned, holding the baby out at arms length, looking into his all too innocent eyes, "This kid? You sure?" he asked as the boy cooed.

The carer nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure," she said, crossing her arms.

Bruce frowned, "Do you think it was Joker who broke his jaw and hurt his arm?"

She shrugged and half nodded, looking a little pensive, "…Probably."

"Well then wouldn't he have… a vendetta, or something, against Joker?" Bruce pulled the child back to his chest, "This boy might be the next robin?"

The nurse scoffed, "No damn way, I'm keeping him as far away from those weirdo's as possible, I'm not risking it."

Bruce chuckled to himself, "Well that isn't really your choice is it Emily…? The kid's gunna make his own life choices."

She huffed gently, "…He's got the same laugh," she said, almost growled, she sounded… angry.

Bruce knew why: Joker's laugh was world renown, a horrible sign of violence and horror. It stirred something in people that they couldn't quite comprehend, and that unnerved them.

Joker always swore that Batman could do what others couldn't, and could understand him, but Bruce had always been unsure of that…

Bruce sighed gently holding the child in his arms and squeezing him slightly as the memories ran through his head, all the times Joker had prodded his mind with his mental games, made him think the mad-man might be right…

…

"So, Bruce," Dick said, fiddling with a tiny toy globe as he leant against the console of the bat-computer, "Everyone knows?"

Batman nodded, biting his lip slightly and he re-ran security footage of one of Joker's old robbery's, from one of the few times he had come out while James would have been alive. One of his old cohorts was in a new gang which had formed since Joker's near death.

Or, as it was publicly known: Death.

No one knew Joker was still alive, of course, apart from the head doctors at Arkham who were keeping him alive.

It was for the best, the way these new gangs were acting… odd to say the least… If they found out Joker was still alive, the idiots might try to break him out, to wake him up…

Idiots.

"What are you going to do?" Dick asked.

"I'll… do the same as I was going to: keep an eye on him until he's old enough to look after himself."

Dick frowned, putting the globe back on the desk and crossing his arms, "…I could always take him."

Bruce looked up at Dick with a mocking scowl, "No, Dick, you're not nearly mature enough to raise a child. The people there know what they're doing."

Dick swallowed hard, "…I was thinking about adopting, not like you did, not so I could have a Robin. Just, I dunno…"

"You do enough good as it is, Dick, getting a child, with your status, it's not exactly easy."

"Barb was…" he sighed gently, "Barb said, if she got pregnant or something, she'd give up on being Bat-girl."

Bruce frowned deeply, "…Really? …Well, that's her decision. I'm sure the gang will miss her."

"That's just an 'if' though, she's not trying or anything."

Bruce nodded, trying to keep stoic; he was unnerved by the thought of Barbra leaving, she was an important part of their team…

And once she left, Dick would too; she'd nag at him about how he didn't spend enough time with his kid, just as she nagged Bruce about Tim, and Damien.

Bruce filled the awkward silence with a cough, and then pressed the play button on the video.

_…_

_Joker walked into the bank, strolled really._

_"Now do try to keep quiet…" Joker said in a hushed tone to the people in the bank, who had dropped to the floor at the sight of The Great Joker._

_"But boss!" one of the cronies said in a loud whisper, "We's gun' be shootin'"_

_Joker laughed, sending a well-aimed shot into a crying woman's head, making it pop. He chuckled gently as the people around her tried not to scream, "Shhhhh…" Joker said, holding a finger to his lips, "Mustn't wake the darling," he raised a hand to his chest and patted gently._

_Joker turned his smiling face back to the brutish grunt who had spoken to him, "Gunshots are fine, it's crying that sets him off… screaming and the like. Rather sad really; I can't torture anyone at home anymore."_

"What's he talking about?" Dick asked, seeming bemused by the Joker's speech.

"…Take a guess." Bruce zoomed in on the Joker, at the area on his chest he had patted. There was something pressed against him, straps over his shoulders, seen quite clearly through his suit.

Dick shook his head, staring up in disbelief, "No," he mumbled, "Not even he would…" he squinted at the screen, seeing clearly through the crack in Joker's jacket, a baby, strapped to his chest, "No…" he placed his hand to his forehead, feeling almost sick.

Why would he expose his child to that…?

"He could have been killed!"

Bruce nodded, "Joker wouldn't have thought that, he would have thought; he didn't want the child to die, so it wouldn't die."

Dick huffed and shook his head, "Fucking imbecile…"

Through the rest of the video Joker pranced and skipped about as he normally would, but was careful to stay quiet.

_"Oh, my little angel," _he kept repeating. When he had first seen this Bruce had mistaken it for talk of himself, of Batman, Joker so often talked to Batman while on a job, knowing he'd watch the surveillance footage when it was finished.

Usually just talking gibberish, chit-chat, sometimes he'd walk Batman through exactly what he were doing, sometimes just repeat Batman's name, sometimes he'd even sing.

But this time he was talking to his child, a gentle loving coo.

A tone that made Bruce think, maybe, if Joker weren't crazy, wasn't a mass murdering psychopath, he may have made a good father.

"_Oh Darling, Angel, please stay asleep. _

_Don't be put off by that wretched woman's squeak. _

_Little darling baby, don't make a peep._

_Boy, just stay still and count those pretty sheep"_

**Hope you liked it, please review ^^**


	5. First Birthday

**Part 5!**

**It's little Angel's birthday!**

"So you just picked a day?" Bruce Wayne asked the head carer, watching as the young children gathered around the large table of food, yelling and screaming happily as they played.

She shrugged, "We couldn't let him not have a birthday could we? And now seemed as good of a day as any."

Bruce nodded and looked across the crowd of children, trying to locate James's smiling face. He couldn't find it.

"Where is the birthday boy?" he asked, trying not to sound concerned.

He knew, of course, nothing could go wrong, there was nothing here that could harm the boy, save the other children…

They had spotted that something was different about him; the lisp and stutter he had developed and the limpness of his left arm. It made him a prime target for some of the older children.

Bullying was common in the orphanage, the suffering some of the children had faced seemed to have a common 2 results: some became reserved and shy, some garish and… _mean_.

They were trying to crack down on it, but it was hard when the victims refused to talk about it in fear of making the abuse worse.

"Uh…" the carer looked around the large garden, lifting a hand to bock out the summer sun, "I think he's in his room, I think Emily is going to bring him out… I'm sure he'd prefer it if you walked him out, he's looking forward to getting a gift from you."

Bruce smiled gently, he knew James would like the present, though his main carer Emily would not.

In the orphanage every 5 children had a main carer, a mother or father figure who they could go to with whatever problem they had, and who took basic responsibility for them, there were 30 children, 6 'main carers', and a head carer, who made sure the others did their job correctly.

"I'll bring him out," Bruce said with a soft smile, he nodded goodbye to the carer and walked towards the large, grey-bricked building that loomed over the otherwise cheery area.

He walked through the tall halls, the dead eyes of the painted animals meeting his own and unsettling him, he shrugged it off easily as he turned into the room with the placard reading 'Aaron Jenkins, Angel-James Wayne, Darren Hutch'

"Oh, A-J," Bruce said with a smile as he entered the room.

Bruce suddenly felt an object wrap around his leg, he fought every instinct in him and did not kick out at the thing grabbing him, he looked down to see a small blonde haired boy clutching at his leg.

"Babat!" the boy squealed, nuzzling into Bruce's leg "Y-You came!"

"Of course I did," Bruce said, bringing the now-4-year-old up into his arms, the boy quickly latching his arms around Bruce's neck.

"So, kid, I hear it's your birthday?" Bruce cooed.

The boy nodded against him, "Babat! You know i-it is, I told you l-last time!"

"Did you?" Bruce said, giving a thoughtful and playful hum, "I don't think I remember that…"

The child giggled, a giggle that sounded so much like Joker's, "Y-you're playing…"

"Am I?" Bruce said, gasping over dramatically, "Well that's a naughty thing to do to the birthday-boy."

"Yes, it is," James said, more giggles erupting from him as Bruce began to carry him from his room.

"Would a present make up for me being naughty?" Bruce smiled, coming to the end of the hall and opening the door to the large garden.

"Yeah…" James said with a deep smirk.

The boy looked up at Bruce, still smiling as Bruce dropped him to the floor.

Bruce instantly noticed the change in James's behaviour as a group of children ran past, he seemed to tense and cower as they passed him.

This unnerved Bruce. The little he knew of the Joker's childhood, the story that changed every time it was told, through his ramblings one element remained constant: fear.

Bruce was worried that the young boy would take a similar turn to the Joker, that was the last thing this world needed. He was trying to bring a positive force in the boy's life, acting very unlike himself in the process, but he was being bullied by the other children, and Bruce couldn't stop that.

Bruce gave James a soft pat on the shoulder, "Wanna see your present, champ?"

James nodded quickly, smiling widely, "Please!"

Bruce pointed a short way across the garden, next to the food table was a similar, much smaller table, covered with presents.

He was pointing to the largest, resting on the floor.

James gasped loudly, clasping his hands to his cheeks, "Oh my god it's massive!" he let out a screech of happiness, seeming to suddenly throw his usual shy demeanour, he ran to the table, turning his head to his carer, "Emma! Emma! I want to open this one now!" He started clawing at the sparkling green paper, trying to find the seam in the paper.

Emma chuckled, and approached the table, watching in amusement as the child tried to pull the paper off the box. Bruce followed her, standing a few steps from the table, chuckling as James finally found a gap and began tugging on it.

Under the thick paper was a box labelled 'Bat-car', inside was a plastic, 'child-sized', model of a batmobile.

James screamed, laughing loudly, "Daddy!" he yelled as he turned to Bruce, his face glowing with a Joker-like smile, "It's a Batmobile!"

Bruce smiled gently, feeling himself blush a little, he looked over at Emma, she had the same startled look on her face.

"Yes Angel, it is," Bruce eventually said, stepping forward and kneeling next to the boy, "Want me to help you set it up?"

AJ nodded and watched as Bruce opened the box.

…

Bruce took a sip of his fruit drink and watched James sit in and 'drive' the model car, one of the other children yelling "You can't catch me!" as AJ rushed after him.

"Hey, Bruce!" a soft male voice called.

Bruce looked over and saw Dick walking across the grass, he held up a hand in welcome.

"So this is where you've been spending all your time?" the younger man asked as he came to Bruce's side.

Bruce nodded, still watching James. The boy looked up from his game, noticing this new man.

"He just called me 'Daddy'."

Dick frowned slightly, "Uh, good?"

Bruce shook his head, "It means I'm going to have to deal with the question 'Why don't I live with my daddy?'…"

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Shit."

Dick felt something tug at his sleeve, he looked down and saw James' scrawny figure staring up at him. "Excuse me, sir?" the boy said sweetly, "You shouldn't swear, i-it's rude."

Dick blinked down at the child, unsure of what to say, immobilised by the boy's gaze. James continued staring up at him, "You're tall," he said bluntly before skipping back to his car, leaving Dick and Bruce to talk.

"Damn," Dick said, running a hand through his hair, "Those eyes."

Bruce nodded, "I know."

"I can see why you're so enthralled by him."

Dick poured himself some juice, and ate some of James's cake, and the two of them watched the children play.

A group of older boys pushed the little black car around the garden, eventually pushing him out of Bruce's line of sight.

Dick smiled; as soon as AJ had gone Bruce seemed to become more alert, standing straighter and looking round nervously.

He seemed to start twitching even worse when the car came back into view, but it was holding one of the other children and not James.

"I'll go find him, I wanna talk to him," Dick said, starting off in the direction he last saw James.

He rounded the corner of the shed and saw James sitting on the ground, staring out at the children who were playing, he wasn't smiling, his face seemed emotionless.

James looked up at Dick, his eyes seeming cold. "Hey, kid," Dick said calmly, crouching next to him.

"My n-name is Angel," the boy replied, sounding almost angry.

"Angel?"

The boy nodded, pulling at the grass, "J-John and Darren said it was their t-turn to play."

Dick frowned, looking at the children who were playing, "But that's not true, it's your toy, you decide who plays with it."

James frowned, tugging harder at the grass, "…They're m-mean to me."

Dick frowned; he'd have to talk to Bruce about putting stricter control on bullying here. "Why don't you tell the carers?"

James looked up at him, pleading, "I don't want to talk about it anymore." The boy hopped to his feet and sighed, "I want to have some c-cake."

Dick got up from the floor, following James as he walked towards the food table. Dick walked back to Bruce's side, "We'll have to keep an eye on him."

…

_"Don't ya' know what today is Mr J?" Harley said with a soft smile as she walked into the tiny living-room of the shack-like house she and Mr J were currently living in._

_Joker looked up from the TV, "Huh?"_

_"It's our little Angel's first birthday today!" she said happily, looking over at the little white-paint-faced boy that she had placed on a mat on the floor._

_Joker nodded, "Yeah I know." He reached his hand down the side of his chair, and pulled out a little plastic bag, "This is for the little brat…"_

_Harley gasped loudly and took the bag, "Oh Mr J!"_

_Joker lifted an eyebrow, "You really thought I'd forget my own son's birthday? God, you're dumber than you look."_

_Harley stared down at the little bag, smiling widely, "…Oh puddin'…"_

_"Give it to him then!" Joker yelled, giving Harley a soft shove towards the child._

_Harley kneeled down next to the gurgling boy, "Look, little Angel, Daddy got you a present!"_

_She handed the baby the soft bag, and the boy stared at it, gurgling, unsure what to do with this new thing._

_Joker stared down at the pair, then growled lightly and shook his head. He slid himself from his chair, and sat crossed legged next to his girlfriend and his son. "I don't think he can open it Harley…" he murmured gently, reaching out to take the bag back from the child._

_He ripped the plastic apart, and pulled out a little floppy toy. He held it out to the child, "Look, it's a Batman," he cooed softly, waving the toy in front of Angel's face, "Take it, it's yours."_

_He waited for the boy to take the toy, grinning when he did._

_The child held the doll to his face, eyes wide in amusement._

_"Batman," Joker said slowly, pointing to the toy._

_"Baa-aa!" the child cooed in reply._

_Harley let out a soft squeak, clasping her hand to her mouth. "Yeah!" Joker said loudly, "That's right! My boy!" he laughed and ruffled the kid's hair as he got to his feet._

_"I trust you made a cake?" he said loudly, watching Harley fuss over the boy and his new toy. _

_Harley looked up at him, "Uh, I made cupcakes?"_

_Joker nodded, chewing his lip pensively, "Ok. Good enough. I'll take three. I expect a cake next time though."_

_He looked down at the child, the small boy repeating the noise 'Baa-aa' and waving the doll in the air. Joker's smile widened, and he let out a small chuckle, "I'm such a good father…"_

**The orphanage doesn't know; they got the date wrong by only three days!**

**I hope you liked it, please leave a review!**


	6. Haircut

**Heyy, welcome to part 6!**

**Enjoy!**

"Mr Wayne?" Emily's voice garbled down the phone.

"Yes, Emma?" Bruce replied happily as he took off his cowl, "You're calling early." It had to be only 8 in the morning, Bruce had got so caught up his work he'd completely forgotten to sleep.

"Yes well… James is supposed to have a haircut today, and we were wondering, seeing as you seem to have such a calming effect on him, if you could come to supervise? You know what happened last time."

Bruce hummed in agreement and nodded to himself: The last time James had been taken to get a haircut he had kicked the hairdresser, in the face, and broken his nose.

That kid may have a weak arm, but his legs were stronger than steel; Bruce had given him a piggy-back ride, and the boy had wrapped his legs so tight around Bruce's torso that he though he may have cracked a rib.

"What time do you need me there?" he asked, trying to sound cheery even though he could feel his eyelids closing on him, he hoped he'd be given a little bit of time to sleep.

"Uh, the appointment isn't till 12, but I'm sure he'd love it if you could come a little earlier."

Bruce nodded, that'd give him three hours sleep and half an hour to get ready, "Ok, I'll be there."

Bruce stretched, looking up at the police report of the night Harley was killed.

It had been a year.

He had tried, he _had_, but… apart from one tiny scuff, which he could get absolutely _nothing_ from.

There was nothing.

Who ever it was, they had known that Harley and Joker would be there, somehow they had known.

There was no way they could have got a line of sight as good as they did, no way they could have avoided the cameras as they had.

Not unless they had planned it, weeks in advance.

And he had checked the security footage from the few months before that, still nothing, no suspicious characters, no one appearing in any kind of pattern, no one he recognised.

He sighed and tried to force the thoughts from his head, if he wasn't careful he'd be too worked up to sleep, and that would mean he'd be snappy when he saw James later.

.

"Hey, AJ!" Bruce said happily as he walked into the orphan's room, seeing James laying on his bed, "How're you doing?"

"Not good," the 4 year old said unhappily, his face screwed up in a deliberate frown, his arms crossed under his chin.

"How come, little soldier?" Bruce asked, keeping the smile on his face, staring into blueing-green of the boy's eyes, knowing what the answer would be.

"You already know, daddy; I have to h-have my hair cut."

Bruce nodded, approaching the bed and sitting on the corner of the wooden frame, "Yeah? What's wrong with that? Having a haircut is good, it stops you from looking like a slob."

James shook his head, "It's not good, I want to look like a slob," he huffed, his head burying into his arms.

"James…" Bruce said with a sigh, reaching out a hand to tousle the boy's long hair.

"What if they cut my ears?" AJ asked quietly, "I don't wanna get c-cut. It would h-hurt."

Bruce frowned gently, a fear of being cut? That would make sense. But how to go around it.

He sat for a second, stroking James hair, letting the boy shuffle up to him, resting his head at Bruce's side.

"I have an idea," Bruce said gently, "Why don't I take you to see the man who cuts imy/i hair?"

James frowned, "Why w-would I want that…?"

"Because," Bruce started, feeling almost proud of himself for thinking of this, "Look at my ears," he pulled James to his feet, and pointed at his own ears.

James looked at them, "What?"

"They aren't cut," Bruce smiled, "I've been getting my hair cut by Korran since I was 30, and he's never cut my ears."

James pouted thoughtfully, humming gently, "…ok," he said quietly with a slow nod, wrapping his arms around Bruce's neck, letting himself be lifted from the bed as Bruce got to his feet.

"W-Wait!" James suddenly shouted into Bruce's ear, making him flinch a little, "Daddy, wait!"

"What?"

James turned himself in Bruce's arms, and stretched out to grab at his pillow, "I forgot Babat!"

Bruce smiled gently as the boy pulled the blackish blue coloured doll from under the pillow, and clutched it to his chest. "Ok, we c-can go," James said, a slight blush on his cheeks as he curled himself back into a ball against Bruce's chest, holding the batman toy to his heart.

.

"Oh! Mister Wayne!" Korran said happily as Bruce walked through the door, the foreign man walked up to the two, looking over at the man and boy who had walked in, "Who is this? This isn't one of your boys," he said exuberantly, leaning over to look at the boy curled in his patrons arms.

"Daddy!" James squealed, wrapping his arms round his head and pressing himself deep into Bruce's chest.

"Oh," Korran said gently, "Or maybe he is… I assume it is he who needs a haircut?"

Bruce held James against him, squeezing gently, "Yes, he's frightened though, scared of being cut, I told him you were the best hairdresser I knew, didn't I James?" James nodded, starting to relax slightly.

"Well that's a very nice thing of you to say sir. If you'll just place the boy in the chair I'll have his hair shortened in no time."

James felt himself be dropped into the soft chair, holding onto Bruce's neck until the last second, Bruce whispered into his ear, "It's ok, you've got your Batman, he'll protect you from being hurt, remember."

James nodded, his arms loosing around Bruce's neck, and he let out a gentle 'ok'. Bruce smiled sadly as he noticed a small track of tears running down the young boy's face.

"It's ok," Bruce said calmly, staying crouched next to the child, holding his hand gently, watching the boy hold the toy to his face, using it to wipe his eyes, "It's ok, I'm here, I won't let him hurt you."

Korran stood behind the young boy, and wrapped a towel around the boy's neck, making the almost-5 year old jump and flinch, "Daddy," he said softly, the word pleading to Bruce, telling him that he wanted to leave, he didn't want to do this.

"It's ok, Angel, it's ok," Bruce cooed, squeezing the small hand, feeling it squeeze back.

The grip on Bruce's hand tightened, the boy beginning to let out tiny squeaks of fear as the old man began trimming his hair, spraying it with water sporadically. James's eyes screwed shut and he cursed himself for acting like such a baby.

"Angel James, it's ok, stay calm," Bruce cooed.

"Yes, young man, I promise I won't cut you, I've been doing this for over 30 years."

"A-and you n-never cut anyone?" James asked weakly, his eyes still screwed shut and his grip still tight on Bruce's hand.

"Not since I finished training, young James. The trick is to think of the scissors as your friend. They can't hurt you because I don't want to hurt you."

"Y-You don't…?" he asked, as if it were something he hadn't expected to hear.

"Of course not! I would never hurt a boy so handsome!"

Bruce noticed a slight blush come to James's face, and a soft giggle of relief come from the young boy's lips.

"I'm only shortening it a bit… I might sweep it to one side ok, young man?"

"O-Ok… why?"

"Because you've got that lovely blonde hair and a lovely shaped face, and I think a nice frame will suit you."

James gave out a small smile, a smile that made Bruce smile, "…Thank you…" the little boy said gently, his eyes resting on the mirror, on the older man's reflection.

The grip on Bruce's hand started to loosen as the child grew more comfortable; the two large figures surrounding him with comfort as he tried to resist the urge to scream and kick out.

He didn't want Bruce to be mad at him.

He sat and tried to stay calm, flinching whenever the blade brushed his skin, listening to the old man's coos and intricate stories.

When it was done he looked down at himself, seeing blonde flecks peppering the towel around him, he swallowed hard, "I-It's done?" he asked quietly, looking in the mirror again at the old man.

"Yep!" the man said, pulling the towel from James's neck, letting him hop down from the chair and shake his partially-wet hair like a dog who just left the bath, "Didn't hurt at all did it?"

James shook his head, running his hand through his hair, happy with it's new length, he looked in the mirror. He liked how it was really short on one side and long and poofy on the other, it looked… unique.

"I like this haircut," he said happily, turning and smiling to the man who had cut his hair.

The old man smiled and nodded, "Well come back to me next time and I'll do it again."

James looked up at Bruce, the man smiling happily at how well behaved the child had been in the face of his fear. "Do you think it looks good, daddy?" he asked, smile splitting his face, not only happy with his new look, but happy that he had overcome the ordeal, that he'd not freaked out and run away.

Bruce lifted the boy into his arms, handing Korran and banknote, "Yeah James, you look like the most handsome boy I know."

James giggled and looked down at the Batman toy that was still clutched in his hand, "What about you Babat? D-Do you think I look good?" James made the doll nod, then he smiled and laughed to himself. The laugh sent chills down Bruce's spine; just like Joker's.

"You look good enough to be a Robin," Bruce said with a smile.

James pouted and shook his head, "…N-No, I'm too weak to be a-a Robin. I c-can even fight off Darren, a-and he's smaller than me!"

Bruce frowned, "Why would you need to fight off Darren?"

James's eye's widened, he swallowed hard, "... Nothing…"

"'Nothing' isn't and answer, James. What's the matter."

James sighed gently, "…They won't let me play in my Batmobile…" he said weakly, holding his toy to his chest.

Bruce frowned deeply, "…Why haven't you told Emma about that?"

James looked up at him, his mouth open slightly, "I-I did. Sh-she said it was good b-because the car w-was a bad in-foo-ence."

Bruce sighed angrily, he'd have to talk to her about that, he'd bought that for James, to help him become more accepted, not so the other children could steal it from him.

He took James out to the car, putting him into his car seat, he stopped for a second, staring into the boy's eyes, he looked sad, disparaged.

"What's the matter, champ?"

"What's bad blood…?" James asked quietly.

Bruce frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I heard some of the nurses talking… They said you have bad blood, and I have it too."

Bruce's frown deepened, "What?" he said in a growl, "What did they say?"

"They said 'James's dad had bad blood, he has it too.' Then they r-realised I was there and stopped talking. What's bad blood?"

"It's… nothing for you to worry about."

Bruce sat himself in the driver's seat of the car, adjusting the mirrors and looking back at the young boy. "How about we get you a burger before I take you home?"

.

"_Haaaarrrrrllleeeeyy!" Joker's voice called through the window of Ivy's apartment._

"_Shit…" the green-tinted-skinned woman whispered to herself, quickly dead-locking the door to the florists, and running up the stairs, to the room where Harley ;ay, watching the TV._

"_Hey Red, come join me," the blonde girl said, patting the chair, "Load'sa room here."_

"_Harley," Ivy said, panic in her voice, "I need you to go into the bedroom, and stay very quiet."_

"_Why Pa-"_

"_HARLEY! Don't kid with me, I know you're in there!" Joker's voice came through a loudspeaker._

_Harley's head perked up, "Mistah J?! He's here!" she squealed happily, "I know he'd find me I knew it!" she punched Ivy playfully on the arm, "See, Red! I told you!" she chuckled happily and got to her feet, she began to make her way to the door, but Ivy grabbed her arm to stop her._

"_Harley," she pled, "If he sees you like that he'll hurt you, he'll try to get rid of the baby."_

_Harley frowned slightly, looking down at the small lump that was appearing on her, "…No, he wouldn't do that."_

"_He would, Harley yo-"_

"_Don't make me do that shitty boom-box thing… that' so 80's…" Joker's shill tone rang through the apartment again._

_Harley looked towards the open window, where Joker's voice was coming from, "…He won't leave till he's seen me."_

"_He won't leave if he does."_

_Harley bowed her head, and she slowly nodded, "Can you talk to him…"_

_Ivy swallowed hard, nodding, she turned to the window, "Go to the bedroom," she said gently, waiting untill Harley left._

"_Alright Joker!" she yelled angrily through the window._

_Joker, who had been dancing playfully around a boom-box, speaker in hand, stopped mid-step, and looked up at the window, he waved playfully, "Hellooooo Ivy, mind telling my lovely girlfriend to come and say hi?"_

"She_'s not here you jerk!" Ivy yelled down, "Leave me the fuck alone!"_

_Joker crossed his arms, standing rigid, "Come on, Ivy, doll-face, don't lie to me. I know she's there and so do you. GIVE HER TO ME!" he roared._

"_She isn't here you perv," Ivy said, trying to keep her usual cold-calm._

_Joker laughed loudly, "Then, next time you see her, tell her I gave you this," he yelled, lifting his arm in a long ark and throwing something through the window._

_Ivy looked at it as it hit the floor, "Shit!" she screeched loudly; a flash-bang._

_She ran around the corner, plugging her fingers in her ears, screwing her eyes shut as the thing exploded, the bright light forcing it's self through her eyelids and the noise penetrating her head._

_The noise faded, and Ivy blinked away the fuzz in her head, hearing Joker's laughter reverberating around the room._

_Ivy got to her feet and walked cautiously to the window of the now-half-destroyed room, growling gently as she saw that Joker had gone, leaving the boom-box to play a loop or his laughter._

**Please leave a review.**

**As a note; AJ's eye's are green-like Joker's- as a baby, and they slowly turn blue -like Harley's- as he grows.**


	7. First day of school

**Hi!**

**This chapters a little jumpy coz I kinda lost track of myself mid-way.**

**But still**

Angel James smiled up at Bruce, then looked back at the flickering TV, watching Batman's latest feat on the news, "I've seen him," the boy said, smiling.

Bruce frowned, "Have you?"

James nodded, "Yeah. Twice. A-at my window." He sighed happily, looking again between Bruce and the TV, "Emma said I was l-lying, but I wasn't. I think he thought I-I was asleep, but I was just pretending."

Bruce smiled, outstretching a hand and ruffling the boy's hair, "… You're not staying up all night to see him are you? Coz you know a growing boy like yourself needs all his sleep."

He had been going to see the boy after his rounds of the city. There was a building opposite which was at eye level with James' room, he would sit on its roof and peer in.

There was something about knowing that the boy was safe, in bed, asleep.

James shook his head, "No, daddy, I only look out for him when I wake up at night."

Bruce cocked his head slightly, "You wake up at night?"

James nodded, somewhat sadly, "The littlest boy, he w-wakes up crying cozza what h-his pap did to him."

"His 'pap'…" Bruce said gently, coaxing the precious information out of the boy.

James nodded, "That's w-what he c-calls him. Owns one of t-the casinos. H-He said he used to come in d-drunk and h-hit him and stuff," James' eyes dropped to the floor. He smiled suddenly, "I'm glad you don't do that to me, I'd h-hate that."

Bruce frowned, the fact that the child would even consider saying that seemed to enforce the truth of his parentage.

"…We'll buy you some sweets, and I'll get you home."

.

Dick knelt down to hug the young boy, "Hey kid!" he said happily, bringing the child up into his arms, "How's our boy been, Emma?"

"He's been very good," Emma said with a smile, handing the child a small green book-bag.

"I've been very good," James echoed.

Dick let out a gentle chuckle, "You all ready for your first day of school, little man."

James nodded, then looked towards the long black car, "…Isn't daddy here…?" he asked gently.

Dick shook his head, "I'm sorry kiddo, he couldn't come, he had an early meeting that he couldn't get out of."

James' smile dropped into a deep frown, and he pushed himself gently away from the older man.

"He's going to pick you up tonight though, ok?" Dick said hopefully, not knowing if James would start tantruming.

James huffed, crossing his arms and pouting cutely, "But I-I wanted daddy to take me."

"Well… I'm here," Dick said with a smile, he pointed to James' doll, "And you've got your Ba-bat."

James let out a gentle sigh of annoyance, "Yeah b-but that's not the same…"

Dick pulled James into a slightly tighter hug, "Yeah… I know. But with your daddy that's something you've got to get used to, he's a very busy man. He can't do everything."

"..But he's a superhero… Like superman."

Dick narrowed his eyes; did he know, how was that possible?

"He said that h-him and Babat help keep away the monsters… " James whispered quietly, his eyes dropping to the toy in his hand.

Dick smiled; half truths were one of Bruce's best parenting weapons. "Yeah, that's right, but he has other kids to look after too."

"Is that why K-Kyle's dad got sent to prison?" James asked with a smile. Dick raised a finger to his lips and nodded, and James let out a loud chuckle.

"…My daddy's a superhero," he said to his toy as Dick bid Emma goodbye and began to walk to the car, "I bet h-he has afternoon tea with Superman all the time, with F-Flash and WonderWoman too."

Dick couldn't help laughing; Batman and the rest of the justice league sitting, drinking tea and eating scones. The mental image was hilarious.

.

"Hey, AJ!" Bruce called to the small boy as he saw him come from the building, filed in a line with other similar sized children.

He was talking to a young blonde girl, and hardly seemed to notice the old man.

"James," Bruce called again, several other parents turned to him wide-eyed, they were unaware that Bruce Wayne had another child.

The boy lifted his head and waved at the man, giving the blonde girl a hug before speeding over.

"Daddy, daddy!" he yelled, "I made friends! So m-many people here like me!"

Bruce lowered himself to James's level and pulled him into a hug, "Oh that's great my boy, did you have fun?"

James nodded, "A-and they all love my Babat… They asked where I g-got him, but I don't know."

Bruce got back to his feet, noticing a woman walking towards them, not the teacher… another parent?

"He's yours?" the woman asked, her tone sweet and kind.

Bruce shrugged, "Kinda," he said, not wanting to tell of James' real parents, for James sake more than anything.

"I l-live in the W-Wayne-Weydon orphanage," James explained to the woman, "Coz Dick says Daddy's too busy to look after me, But now I-I've started school Daddy's gunna try to get me to l-live at his house!"

"That's right, James," Bruce said with a half-forced smile – he had hoped to keep it secret until the paperwork had gone through, but it seemed Dick had decided differently.

They'd already started decorating one of the rooms, which would become James's room; painting the walls pale green, and the wooden bedframe a deep blue.

"Oh," the woman said, watching Bruce run his fingers through the small boy's hair, "That's sweet. Well… My daughter, Tabitha," she pointed to the blonde girl that James had been talking to, "Seems rather smitten with your boy, I just wanted to come and introduce myself."

"Make sure he's not a bad egg, eh?" Bruce said with a smile, "He's a lovely boy I assure you."

The woman nodded, "Well I can see he's got good parentage… Where's his mother?"

James pouted, interjecting again, "I d-don't need a mother, I have a daddy and brothers and Emma. That's better than a mummy."

The woman frowned, looking a little shocked at James's tone of voice, "Oh?"

Bruce crouched down to James's side, patting his arm, "Hey, James, go and play with that friend of yours ok? Leave us adults to talk."

James nodded, turning on the spot and runny off shouting 'Tabby!' as he went.

Bruce got back to his feet, running his hand through his hair, smiling gently at the woman, "His mother passed, unfortunately, when he was 3. Emma's his carer at the orphanage. We've not told him too much about what happened… in fact even I'm not too sure."

"Are you his biological father…?" the woman pried, taking Bruce a little by surprise.

"Uh… I was… a friend of his biological father, but James didn't know him."

"And now you're looking after their kid… that's so kind of you," the woman smiled sweetly, holding out a hand, "I'm Tara Jones, it's nice to meet you."

"Bruce Wayne."

Her smile suddenly widened, "…I thought you seemed familiar. Well, I suppose that explains you taking James in too."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, looking over to his boy and watching as he played with the blonde haired girl.

The woman chuckled, "Well you do have a reputation for collecting unwanted children… James's 'brothers'"

Bruce shrugged, blushing slightly, "What can I say, I have a weakness."

"Well I'm glad it's something noble."

.

James sat in the back of the car, pouting unhappily, his arms crossed, huffing for attention.

"…I take it your second day at school didn't go so well?" Bruce asked, looking over at the boy.

James shook his head pointedly, not answering, curling himself into a tighter ball on his chair.

"What happened?" Bruce asked coaxingly.

James sighed unhappily, "The boys in c-class made fun of me because my b-bad arm is tinier than my good arm."

Bruce frowned, "Well…" he pondered to himself, looking down at the deep scar on the boy's arm, "We can't have that."

James's frown deepened, "How am I ever going to be a r-robin if I have a weak arm!?"

Damien looked over at his father from the front seat of the car, "…You told him he could be a robin?"

"I'm gunna have a d-doll that looks like me and everything…" James huffed quietly.

"I'm sure," Bruce said calmly, "Batman would love to have James as a robin once his current robin is too old."

"He's not nearly strong enough to be a robin," Damien said bluntly; as fond of the kid as he had become, he wasn't about to lead him down a false route. He wouldn't lie to him.

"He sure winded you when he kicked you in the chest last week," Bruce reminded his son; they had been 'playing' –meaning Damien had been sulking about 'something' and James had jumped on him, wanting to play, and Damien had tried to push him off, and…

"He did not. …And the strength of his legs does not effect the weakness of his arm, if someone were to get hold of him then…"

Damien turned to look at James, and saw the boys face pulled into a deep frown, forehead creased and bluish-green eyes bearing down on him, the gaze stilling him as Joker's had always done.

It was so creepy how he did that…

Bruce smiled, impressed by the boy's ability to shut Damien up, "I'm sure that with training James's arm would improve, and he'll be as good of a robin as anyone."

"…I'll be a b-better robin than anyone…" James said with a huffed growl, turning his eyes to the window again, leaving Damien a little dazed.

.

Damien sat on the roof, clad in his robin gear, overlooking James's bedroom window, "You don't watch me while I sleep do you father..?" he drawled calmly, "You realise how strange this seems."

Bruce hushed him, "I just need to leave these."

"I don't see why you need to do this now, you're going to see him in the morning."

"It'll have more effect if Batman gives him them."

He dropped down to James's window, looking down at the boy, he put the small heavy box at the foot of the bed; James's bed was by the window, Bruce didn't even have to stretch to touch the boy.

Bruce gasped inwardly as the boy's eyes jumped open, he had expected it, but still it came as a shock.

"B…Batman…?" the boy slurred, pulling his toy to his chest, a smile coming to his face, "I k-knew you'd come t-to see me again."

Without a word, Bruce turned and leapt away from the window, back up to the roof, and sped off, followed by his robin.

James watched them leave, then turned his eyes to the box at the foot of his bed. He pulled it to him and began to open the box, fumbling sleepily with it.

He smiled widely; inside the box were two small dumbbells, black with blue bat-symbols on each end.

"…Wow…" he whispered to himself as he inspected them.

He smiled to himself, and put them back in the box, quietly so he wouldn't wake the other children, he walked across the room and put them in his bottom draw, hiding them under a few pairs of black and green socks.

It was as if Batman knew he wanted to make his arms stronger, maybe even wanted him to be the next robin.

He went back to bed, his mind filled with thoughts of what it would be like to fight along side Batman.

.

"_Angel, come on, eat your food," Harley said to the baby, her frown deepening as the baby refused the mouthful of gloop._

_Joker looked over at them, "Give him a slap, that'll get him to behave."_

_Harley put the spoon to the child's mouth again, "Angel. Eat, now."_

_The baby cooed gently, smiling gently at his mother._

_Harley huffed in annoyance, "Angel!" she snapped._

_Joker rolled his eyes and put down his paper, getting to his feet and coming to Harley's side, "Let me, I'll get the little bastard to eat…"_

_Harley let Joker kneel down next to her and take the spoon from her hand._

_He grabbed the boy's nose, pinching it painfully. The boy opened his mouth at the sensation of the man's nails digging into his skin. Joker took the opportunity to push the spoon of food down the boys throat, making him cough, and swallow._

"_There we go," Joker said triumphantly, "Just do that, he'll soon learn to obey you."_

_The child coughed again, tears coming to his eyes, he began to whimper and cry._

_Joker frowned, "Shut up you damn thing, or you'll get no food."_

_The baby hiccupped and continued crying. Joker huffed, giving Harley a sharp shove, "Get him out of here, I don't want to put up with his racket."_

"_B-but," Harley stuttered, "He's not finished his food."_

"_He obviously doesn't want it if he won't eat. He's what… 5 months now? … He's able to eat this food, so make him eat it."_

_Harley frowned, bringing the child to her chest, she'd breast feed him privately, where Joker couldn't see. She wasn't sure why but he freaked out when he saw her breastfeeding the boy._

_But if he wouldn't eat baby food, what choice did she have?_

_She couldn't let him starve._

**I hope you liked it!**

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